Hi Mike and Julia
The good news is that both of my envelopes arrived over the weekend (2nd Class post, as I suspected. Call me old fashioned but given that they're charging nearly 3 grand for a holiday, JY could have used a first class stamp given that my address is not in the UK. I am genuinely worried that my passport and visa might be sent the same way)
The bad news is (and thanks again for letting me know about this Mike) that not only has the departure time and airport changed, but also the return flight. Instead of landing at Gatwick at 6am on Sunday morning, we are now landing at Heathrow at 17.45pm that evening, which means I will miss my connecting flight home to Jersey. (As this was a non-changable ticket, I've had to take the loss, cancel and rebook). I've had to pay for new connecting flights to Jersey, an extra hotel night, connections from Gatwick to Heathrow (you can't fly directly to Heathrow from the Channel Islands) and also had to take a day of unpaid leave from work as I was due back on Monday.
All in all, the change (which I completely understand was Air China's doing, not JY's) has cost me just over £400 - and that was only because I was able to use some Avios points, otherwise it would have been closer to £600. But, having checking the T&Cs, I realised that cancelling the trip would have lost me over £800, not to mention the £70 I've already paid to see my doctor for my China jabs (we don't have the NHS in Jersey and have to pay for everything.) So, basically, I was stuck between a rock and a hard place and have been very firmly penalised for not living in Mainland UK.
Anyway, whats done is done. I've just got to suck it up, put the whole thing behind me and try to focus on the excitement of the holiday. I know that I am extremely fortunate to be in a position to afford both the holiday and the cost of all the changes, but I think it will be a while before I do another one.
Looking forward to meeting you, Mike
Best regards
Mandy